|
Culture
The national symbol is reffered to as a Vytis, which is a white knight, sitting astride his horse and
has a sword; he symbolizes the nation's struggle to defend itself from intruders. The national plant is rue, and the
national bird is the stork. The flag consists of horizontal stripes in yellow, green, and red. Lithuanians are fond
of nature and have a strong feeling of a shared culture that begins as early as primary school, where folk music, national
traditions, and holidays play an important role. Lithuanians are have quite similiar traditions to that of a Slovak.
The primary language spoken in the country is Lithuanian, however some people will also have a tendency
to speak some Polish and Russian as well.
Brief History
During World War I (1914-1918) the German army occupied Lithuania, but at the end of the war, on 16 February 1918 in
Vilnius, the Council of Lithuania declared Lithuania an independent state. Lithuania is on the coast of the Baltic Sea it
consists of just over 40,500 square miles. The country is divided into four regions: Aukštaitija, the highlands;
Žemaitija, the lowlands in the west; Dzūkija, in the southeast; and Suvalkija, in the southwest.
Vital statistics
|
|
1990 |
1995 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
|
Live births |
56868 |
41195 |
37812 |
37019 |
36415 |
34149 |
31546 |
30014 |
30598 |
30419 |
|
Stillbirths |
305 |
285 |
248 |
240 |
207 |
221 |
167 |
193 |
168 |
150 |
|
Deaths |
39760 |
45306 |
41143 |
40757 |
40003 |
38919 |
40399 |
41072 |
40990 |
41340 |
|
of which infant deaths under 1 year |
581 |
514 |
391 |
343 |
315 |
294 |
250 |
238 |
206 |
240 |
|
Natural increase/decrease |
17108 |
-4111 |
-3331 |
-3738 |
-3588 |
-4770 |
-8853 |
-11058 |
-10392 |
-10921 |
|
Marriages |
36310 |
22150 |
18796 |
18486 |
17868 |
16906 |
15764 |
16151 |
16975 |
19130 |
|
Divorces |
12747 |
10221 |
11371 |
11752 |
11390 |
10882 |
11024 |
10579 |
10599 |
10997 |
|
Live births |
15.4 |
11.4 |
10.6 |
10.4 |
10.3 |
9.8 |
9.1 |
8.6 |
8.9 |
8.8 |
|
Deaths |
10.8 |
12.5 |
11.5 |
11.5 |
11.3 |
11.1 |
11.6 |
11.8 |
11.9 |
12.0 |
|
Natural increase/decrease |
4.6 |
-1.1 |
-0.9 |
-1.1 |
-1.0 |
-1.3 |
-2.5 |
-3.2 |
-3.0 |
-3.2 |
|
Marriages |
9.8 |
6.1 |
5.3 |
5.2 |
5.1 |
4.8 |
4.5 |
4.7 |
4.9 |
5.6 |
|
Divorces |
3.4 |
2.8 |
3.2 |
3.3 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
3.1 |
3.2 |
|
Deaths under 1year per 1000 live births |
10.3 |
12.4 |
10.3 |
9.2 |
8.6 |
8.5 |
7.8 |
7.9 |
6.8 |
7.9 |
|
